Apparatus for regulating the consistency of paper stock



1931- I J. F. GRABOWSKY A 1,819,552

APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE CONSISTENCY OF PAPER STOCK Filed Oct. 26. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l N b glwvento'c Aug. 18, 1931.- J. F. GRABOWSKY 1,819,552

APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE CONSISTENCY OF PAPER STOCK Filed'Oct. 26, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q V i J; y/y/fl gnmntor Patented Aug. 18, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT? OFFICE JOHN F. GRABOWSKY, OF STEVENS POINT, WISCONSIN APPARATUS FOR BEGULATING THE CONSISTENCY 0F IAPEB STOCK Application filed October 26, 1929. Serial No. 402,646.

stock is too thin, one of said, means being disposed in the compartment into which the stock is initially received from the pump, the water control of this compartment being operatedby a float, and to provide means for regulatably discharging water into the stock as the stock is discharged to the paper making machine, and a further object is to provide in connection with the last named means a scale plate over which all stock must pass in passing to the paper making machine, the scale plate 1 being supported from a scale beam, the scale beam having thereon a weight or equivalent device set. so that any desired weight of stock may be secured and this weight of stock maintained 7 while the stock is flowing to the paper making machine, and to provide in this connection an indicator which will visually show whether the predetermined consistency of stock is passing into the machine.

- A further object in this'connection is to provide means operated by the scale beam for increasing or decreasing theflow of stock to the scale beam and increasing 'or decreasing the flowof water into the compartment within which the scale plate moves and into the main compartment from which this stock is taken to the scale plate compartment. Means are also provided for taking ofi any n superabundanee of stock and conveying it back to the vat or tank from which the stock is initially pumped and maintaining a predeterminedllev'el of semi-liquid stock wlthin the main compartment.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:-

supplied from the usual pulp Figure 1 is a top plan view of a stufl' box or pulp receiving box with my improvements applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on thev line 2-2 of F1gure 1;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1';

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section on the line 55 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary section on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Referring to these drawings, 10 designates the wall of a main tank. A partition 11 extends across this main tank and a partition 12 extends from the partition 11 to the partition 10, thus providlng a compartment 13, a main compartment 14 and a scale plate containing compartment 15. The compartment 13 has its bottom disposed below the bottom of the compartment '14, which compartment 14 extends entirely across the width of the tank and this compartment 13 is provided with a discharge opening 16 by which excess water and stock may be' carried back to the source of supply. The wall 11 of the compartment 13 is provided with an upper opening 17 and a lower opening 18, this lower opening being controlled by a gate 19 whereby passage through the lower openlng may be entirely shut ofi. This gateis operated manually. The gate, of course, moves in suitable guides and may be operated in any suitable manner.

Extending laterally .from the compartment 14 and forming a part thereof,'is a casing 20 constituting a well, the lower end of which communicates by means of an opening 21 with a pump by which the pulp is vat or any other source of supply to this consistency regulating mechanism.

Operating within this well is a float 22 having a stem 23, this stem extending upward through a guide 24 mounted upon a transverse beam extending across the well. Mounted upon one of the side walls 10 is a supply connection 25 whereby water fromv any suitable source of supply may be transmitted to a pipe 26. This pipe 26 extends across the top of the well and then downward as at 27 and is provided with spray outlets whereby when water is flowing through the pipe, the stock will be thinned up under the float.

float 22. Thus it will be seen that as the float rises, under the action of stock which is too thick in consistency, the valve within the valve casing 28, will be opened to a greater or less extent depending upon the position of the float and water will be allowed to flow through the pipe 26 and discharge through the spray apertures thereof on to the stock, thus thinning the stock and as the float falls, the valve will be little by little closed until eventually it may be entirely closed, thus cutting off the flow of water to the stock.

The stock as it rises up in the well 20 passes into the main compartment 14. The floor of this main compartment, as stated before, is located above the main floor of the compartment 13, being approximately two feet higher in depth and the bottom of this main compartment 14 is intersected by a transverse bafile or rib 33 whose upper face is downwardly inclined in a direction to keep the stock moving toward the entrance to the scale plate compartment 15.

Disposed against the floor of the compart-- ment 14 and against this rib or baflie 33 is a spray pipe 34. This spray pipe, as before remarked, lies against the floor and has outwardl projecting spray nozzles and is connected to an upright pipe 35 extending up to the level of the pipe 25 and connected to the pipe 25 by a pipe section 36.

Disposed in the length of this pipe section 36, is a ate valve or equivalent valve,-the casing of which is designated 37, the stem of this valve having an outwardly projecting arm 38. Also connected to the inlet water connection 25 is a pipe 39 which extends around the scale compartment-15 at the top thereof and has a plurality of downwardly projecting and discharging nozzles 40. The bottom of the scale compartment has a discharge opening 41, leading to the paper making machinery.

The partition 11 which separates the main compartment 14 from the compartment 15 is provided with an opening 42 and operating in guides against the face of the partition 11 is a slide valve 43 having an inverted V-shaped opening, in its lower margin designated 44. The lower margin of the opening 42 is also V-shaped and engaged in this opening is the V-shaped trough 45 whereby pulp may be discharged from the compartment 14 on to the scale pan in the compartment 15 as will be later stated.

For the purpose of counter-balancing the scale pan operating in the valve 37 and indicating visually the consistency of the pulp passing through the machine, I provide the scale beam 46. This is pivotally mounted upon a bracket 47 of any suitable construction and to one side of its pivot carries the cross head 48.

The scale beam may be provided with apertures at intervals and a weight 49 is adapted to be shifted along the scale beam to any desired position and held by a set screw 50 engageable in any one of the apertures. The scale beam is provided with graduations of such character as to indicate the different consistencies of pulp and thus the weight 49 may be slid along the scale beam and set in any position to counter-balance the scale plate disposed within the outlet compartment 15 and the weight of pulp thereon.

The cross head 48 has at one end an arm 51 which carries depending stirrups 52 upon Which the scale plate 53 is mounted, this scale plate being provided with a tongue 54 extending beneath the trough 45 receiving the discharge therefrom so that even if the discharge from this chute be small, the material will be discharged to the scale plate. The opposite wall of the compartment 15 from the chute 45 carries upon it a plate 55 spaced from the wall and extending down parallel to the plane of movement of the scale plate which acts to stop the stock from shooting in its flow over the scale plate. Thus provision is made under all circumstances for the stock to pass on to the scale plate and flow over this scale plate and downward and through the opening 41 to the paper making machine. The opposite end of the beam 48 carries upon it an arm 56' which is connected by a link 57 to the arm 36 of valve 37-. Thus as the scale plate lowers under the weight of the stock against the action of the counter-weight 49, the valve will be opened to admit water to the spray pipes 34, thus increasing the amount of water in the stock and reducing the consistency or thickness of the stock. If on the other hand, the scale plate rises because the stock is too thin and not sufficiently heavy, the valve will be shifted to cut off the flow of water or reduce it and thus the consistency of the stock will be increased.

The gate 43 is also connected to the crosshead 48, the gate being carried by the vertically extending rod 58 which is screws threaded and carries the u per and lower nuts 59. Extending from tiie cross head is an arm 60, the outer end of which is provided with an eyethrough which the rod 58 passes, this eye bein the nuts 59. .Disposed ahove the uppermost nut 59 is a lock nut 60 having a handle 61. Thus the gate 43 may be initially adjusted to provide a redetermined amount of opening for the ow of material from the stock compartment 14 into the scale compartment 15. Thereafter, the rising or falling of the scale plate within the compartment 15 will act to control the gate. Thus when the scale rises because stock is too light, not only will area.

Mounted upon the wall 11 is a scale 62 and adjustably mounted upon the screwthreaded rod 58 is a pointer '63 which operates over this scale. The position of the pointer upon the scale will indicate whether the consistency of the stock is the consistency desired and for which the weight 49 has been set.

The operation of this mechanism will be obvious from what has gone before. There is a constant flow of stock up through the well and the consistency of this stock acting upon the float 22 causes more or less a water to be discharged into the stock as it flows from this well into the compartment 14. r

In the compartment 14, the stock may or may not be given additional water from the pipe 33, and from the compartment 14, the stock flows through the chute on to the scale plate and from thence to the paper mahng machine. Assumingthat the counter-weight has been properly set upon the beam 46, then the scale plate will be supported at a predetermined position by this weight so long as the stock is of a certain definite consistency and has a certain rate of flow. If'the stock is not of the proper consistency but is too thick, the scale plate will be depressed. This will cause the partial closing of the gate 43 and the reduction in flow of the stock and at the same time increases the amount of water delivered into the compartment 14 by the pi e 34, thus causing a thinning of the stoc As this thin stock flows into the compartment 15, the scale plate will rise under the action of the counter-weight on the scale beam, this will open the gate wider and will reduce the amount of water flowing into the stock. Thus the consistency of the stock is constantly regulated and kept at a certain predetermined point because every bit of the stock passing to the paper making machine disposed between must pass over the scale plate. Of course, there being an, outlet 41 in the bottom of the compartment 15, the stock does not pile up upon the scale plate, but is constantly flowing off and thus practically a constant level or depth of stock is kept upon the scale plate. If the stock within the compartment 14 should increase beyond a certain depth, it will flow off through the opening 17 into the compartment 13 and thus back to the stock vat or other source of supply. The manually operable gate 19 is to be closed when the machine is not in operation.

Mounted upon that'face of the wall 11 which confronts the scale yoke 52 is a gate valve 64, adapted to close the opening 42 when itis shifted down but normally held up out of operative position or in a position partly closing the opening 42 by a wedge 62 orequivalent means.

It will be seen that the construction which I have illustrated is simple, easily installed and is responsive to variations in consistency of the liquid and positive in its operation. I have illustrated the principle of my device asapplied to the means for regulating the weight or consistency of stock for paper making machines but it is to be understood that the invention may be also used' with other liquids in which the consistency or weight is to be kept uniform. It is also to be understood that various modifications might be made in the arrangement of parts and details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. An apparatus for regulating the consistency of a flowing liquid including a main compartment, a scale compartment having an inlet communicating with the main compartment, the scale compartment having an outlet, a gate valve for controlling the flow through said inlet, a scale beam, 2. scale plate disposed in the scale compartment and operatively engaging the beam, the scale beam having a counter-weight, a pipe for discharging thinning liquid into the interior of the main compartment adjacent the bot-' tom thereof, and a valve in the length of said pipe and operative adjustable connections between said beam and said valve and between the gate and said beam.

2. An apparatus for regulating the consistency of a flowing liquid including a main compartment, a scale compartment having an inlet communicating with the main compartment, the scale compartment ha an outlet, a gate valve for controlling the flow through said inlet, a scale beam, a scale plate disposed in the scale compartment and operatively engaging the beam, the scale beam having a counter-weight, a pipe for discharging thinning liquid into the interior of the main compartment adjacent the 1 bottom thereof, a valve in the length of said pipe, operative adjustable connections between said beam and said valve and between the gate and said beam, a fixed scale disposed adjacent to the beam, and an adjustable pointer moving in consonance with the beam and over said scale plate.

3. An apparatus for regulating the consistency of a flowing liquid including a main compartment, a scale compartment, there being an inlet leading from the main com-- partment into the scale compartment adjacent the bottom thereof and an outlet from the scale compartment, a gate valve moving across the inlet to the scale compartment and having a valve stem, a scale beam pivotally mounted above the compartments and having an adjustable counter-weight, an adjustable connection between the stem of the gate valve and said beam, a scale plate operatively supported by the beam and depending into said scale compartment and receiving liquid from the inlet thereof, a pipe for discharging thinning liquid into the liquid of the, main compartment, a valve for controlling the discharge through said pipe, and an operative connection between said a valve and said scale beam.

4. An apparaus for regulating the consistency of a flowingl-iquid including a main compartment, a scale compartment, there being an inlet'leading from the main compartment into the scale compartment adjacent the bottom thereof and an outlet from the scale compartment, a gate valve moving across the inlet to the scale compartment and having a valve stem, a scale beam pivotally mounted above the compartments and having an adjustable counter-weight, an adjustable connection between the stem of the gate valve and said beam, a scale plate operatively supported by the beam and de-.

pending into said scale compartmen't and receiving liquid from the inlet thereof, a i e for discharging thinning liquid 1nto the liquid of the main compartment, a valve for controlling 'the discharge through said pipe, an operative connection between said valve and said scale beam, a fixed scale, and an indicator adjustably mounted upon the stem ofthe gate valve and movable over said scale. 7 v

'5. Means for regulating the consistency of stock as it passes to a paper making machineincluding a main comp'artmentand,a scale compartment having an inlet leading into the main compartment and having an outlet, an inlet well discharging into the main compartment, a float operating in said well, a water spray plpe discharging into the well, a valve therein controlled. by the float, a counter-weighted scale beam mounted above the scale compartment, a scale disposed in the scale compartment and upon which the stock from the main compartment compartment to through said inlet, a scale beam mounted and a valve controlling the discharge from a said spray pipes and operatively connected to said beam to increase the flow of water as the scale plate lowers and decrease the flow of water as the scale plate rises.

6. Means for regulating the consistency of stock as it passes to a paper making machine including a main compartment through which the stock passes, a well for receiving the stock, water spray pipes discharging into said well, a float in the well, and a Valve controlling the flow of water through the spray pipes and operated by the float to reduce the amount of water as the float rises and increase the amount of water as the float falls, a scale compartment beyond the main compartment and having an inlet opening communicating with the main compartment and having a discharge opening, a scale pan disposed in the scale compartment to receive stock flowing through said inlet, a scale beam mounted above the scale compartment and to which the scale pan is connected, a gate valve controlling the flow of stock from the main compartment into the scale compartment, operative connection between the gate valve and the scale beam, a water-pipe having spray nozzles disposed adjacent the bottom of the main compartment and adjacent to the inlet to the scale compartment, and a valve for controlling the flow of water through said pipe operatively connected to the scale beam and operated thereby to reduce the flow of water as the scale pan rises and increases the flow of water as the scale pan lowers.

7. Means for regulating the onsistency of stock as it passes to a paper making machine including a main compartment through which the stock passes, a well for receiving the stock, water spray pipes dis- ,charging into said well, a float in the well,

main compartment and havin a discharge opening, a scale pan dispose in the scale receive stock flowing above the scale compartment and to which the scale pan is connected, a gate valve controlling the flow of stock from the main compartment into the scale compartment, operative connection between the gate valve and the scale beam, a water pipe' having spray nozzles disposed adjacent the bottom of the main compartment and. adjacent to the inlet to the scale compartment, and a valve for controlling the flow of water through said pipe operatively connected to the scale beam and operated thereby to reduce the flow of water as the scale pan rises and increase the flow of water as the scale pan lowers, the bottom of the main compartment having a bafile causing the flow of stock to the inlet opening into the scale compartment.

8. Means for regulating the consistency of stock as it passes to a paper making machine including a main compartment through which the stock passes, a well for receiving the stock, water spray pipes discharging into said well, a float in the well, and a valve controlling the flow of water through the spray pipes and operated by the float to reduce the amount'of water as the float rises and increase the amount of water as the float falls, a scale compartment beyond the main compartment and having an inlet opening communicating with the main compartment and having a discharge opening, a scale pan disposed in the scale compartment to receive stock flowing through said inlet, a scale beam mounted above the scale compartment and to which the scale pan is connected, a gate valve controlling the flow of stock from themain compartment into the scale compartment, operative connection between the gate valve and the scale beam, a water pipe having spray nozzles disposed adjacent the bottom of the main compartment and adjacent to the inlet to the scale compartment, and a valve for controlling the flow of water through said pipe operatively connected to the scale beam and operated thereby to reduce the flow of water asthe scale pan rises and increase theflow of water as the scale pan lowers, an overflow compartment having a discharge and having two inlet openings one adjacent the top of the main compartment and one ad jacent the bottom, and a gate valve for controlling the flow of stock through the lower openin 9. Means for regulating the consistency of stock as it passes to a paper making 'machine including a main compartment through which the stock passes, a well communicating with the main compartment and through which the stock passes to the main compartment, means for discharging water into saidwell, a float in the well, means connected to said fioat for controlling the discharge of water into the well as the float rises or falls, a scale compartment having an inlet opening leading from the main compartment thereinto, the scale compartment having an outlet, a V-shaped spout in the inlet opening, a scale pan disposed within the scale compartment below said spout and above the outlet from the scale compartment,

a scale beam having an adjustable counterweight mounted above the scale compartment and operatively connected to the scale pan, a gate valve controlling the flow of stock through said spout and operatively connected to the scale beam, a water pipe having discharge nozzles discharging adjacent the bottom of the scale compartment, a valve controlling the flow of water through said spray pipe and operatively connected to the scale bottom, and means for discharging water into the scale compartment.

10. In apparatus for regulating the consistency of paper stock, a vertically disposed compartment having an inlet opening and 'a discharge opening, a scale plate disposed in said compartment having free bodily vertical movement, a counter-weighted scale beam disposed above the compartment and with which one end of the scale beam is operatively connected, the scale plate being flat and having a stock deflecting plate extending upward a short distance above the scale plate on that side of the plate toward the inlet opening.

11. In apparatus for regulating the consistency of paper stock, a compartment having an inlet opening and an outlet opening, a scale plate disposed below the inlet opening, and having free bodily vertical movement within the compartment, a counterweighted scale beam, a rod operatively connected thereto and depending into the compartment and having a; yoke operatively engaged at opposite ends of the scale plate, said scale plate being flat and having an upwardly extending stock deflect-ing plate on that side of the plate adjacent the inlet opening, there being a downwardly and inwardly extending stock deflecting plate mounted upon thewall of the said compartment opposite the inlet opening.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

JOHN F. GRABOWSKY. 

